Battery Module, and Battery Pack and Vehicle Including Battery Module

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a battery module, which includes a module case having a predetermined accommodation space; a plurality of battery cells accommodated in the module case; a plurality of bus bar members provided at an upper side of the plurality of battery cells to electrically connect the plurality of battery cells; a support plate disposed between the plurality of battery cells and the plurality of bus bar members to support the plurality of bus bar members; and a foam member filled in a space between the plurality of battery cells at a bottom portion of the support plate.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a battery module, and a battery packand a vehicle including the battery module.

The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No.10-2019-0149839 filed on Nov. 20, 2019 in the Republic of Korea, thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND ART

Secondary batteries which are highly applicable to various products andexhibit superior electrical properties such as high energy density, etc.are commonly used not only in portable devices but also in electricvehicles (EVs) or hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) driven by electricalpower sources. The secondary battery is drawing attentions as a newenergy source for enhancing environment friendliness and energyefficiency in that the use of fossil fuels can be reduced greatly and nobyproduct is generated during energy consumption.

Secondary batteries widely used at present include lithium ionbatteries, lithium polymer batteries, nickel cadmium batteries, nickelhydrogen batteries, nickel zinc batteries and the like. An operatingvoltage of the unit secondary battery cell, namely a unit battery cell,is about 2.5V to 4.5V. Therefore, if a higher output voltage isrequired, a plurality of battery cells may be connected in series toconfigure a battery pack. In addition, depending on the charge/dischargecapacity required for the battery pack, a plurality of battery cells maybe connected in parallel to configure a battery pack. Thus, the numberof battery cells included in the battery pack may be variously setaccording to the required output voltage or the demandedcharge/discharge capacity.

Meanwhile, when a plurality of battery cells are connected in series orin parallel to configure a battery pack, it is common to configure abattery module including at least one battery cell first, and thenconfigure a battery pack by using at least one battery module and addingother components.

Specifically, when the battery cells are cylindrical cells, theconventional battery module generally includes a plurality ofcylindrical cells stacked on each other, a bus bar member forelectrically connecting the plurality of cylindrical cells, and a modulecase for accommodating the bus bar members, the cylindrical cells andvarious electronic components of the battery module.

However, in the conventional battery module, a predetermined gap isgenerated between the cells according to the structural shape of thecylindrical cells. Thus, when an external impact or the like occurs, thebattery cells are frequently moved from/to each other, which increasesthe concern of damage to the battery cells.

Therefore, there is a demand to develop a battery module, which maysupport battery cells more stably and prevent the battery cells frombeing damaged due to an external impact or the like, and also to providea battery pack and a vehicle including the battery module.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

Therefore, the present disclosure is directed to providing a batterymodule, which may support battery cells more stably, and a battery packand a vehicle including the battery module.

These and other objects and advantages of the present disclosure may beunderstood from the following detailed description and will become morefully apparent from the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.Also, it will be easily understood that the objects and advantages ofthe present disclosure may be realized by the means shown in theappended claims and combinations thereof.

Technical Solution

In one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a batterymodule, comprising: a module case having a predetermined accommodationspace; a plurality of battery cells accommodated in the module case; aplurality of bus bar members provided at an upper side of the pluralityof battery cells to electrically connect the plurality of battery cells;a support plate disposed between the plurality of battery cells and theplurality of bus bar members to support the plurality of bus barmembers; and a foam member filled in a space between the plurality ofbattery cells at a bottom portion of the support plate.

The foam member may be filled using a dispenser unit that contains thefoam member, and the support plate may have at least one filling guideinsert hole for guiding injection of the foam member by the dispenserunit.

The at least one filling guide insert hole may be disposed at an upperside corresponding the space between the plurality of battery cells in aheight direction of the module case.

The support plate may include a plate body coupled to the module case atthe upper side of the plurality of battery cells; and a plurality of busbar supports provided to the plate body and disposed to be spaced apartfrom each other by a predetermined distance so that the plurality of busbar members are placed thereon.

The at least one filling guide insert hole may be provided to theplurality of bus bar supports.

The filling guide insert hole may be provided in plural, and theplurality of filling guide insert holes may be provided to each bus barsupport.

The plurality of filling guide insert holes may be disposed to be spacedapart from each other by a predetermined distance along a longitudinaldirection of each bus bar support.

A guide wall protruding to a predetermined height may be provided at anupper side of the plurality of bus bar supports to support a sidesurface of the plurality of bus bar members.

A guide rib shaped corresponding to facing battery cells may be providedat a lower side of the plurality of bus bar supports.

The guide rib may at least partially contact the upper side of theplurality of battery cells to support the upper side of the plurality ofbattery cells.

The plurality of battery cells may be provided as cylindrical batterycells, and the cylindrical battery cells may be stacked along ahorizontal direction inside the module case.

In addition, the present disclosure further provides a battery pack,comprising: at least one battery module according to the aboveembodiments; and a pack case configured to package the at least onebattery module.

Moreover, the present disclosure further provides a vehicle, comprisingat least one battery pack according to the above embodiments.

Advantageous Effects

According to various embodiments as above, it is possible to provide abattery module, which may support battery cells more stably, and abattery pack and a vehicle including the battery module.

Moreover, according to various embodiments as above, it is possible toprovide a battery module, which may improve safety of the battery cellsby preventing the battery cells from being damaged due to an externalimpact or the like, and a battery pack and a vehicle including thebattery module.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of thepresent disclosure and together with the foregoing disclosure, serve toprovide further understanding of the technical features of the presentdisclosure, and thus, the present disclosure is not construed as beinglimited to the drawing.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for illustrating a battery module according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view showing the batterymodule of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for illustrating a case body according to anotherembodiment, employed at a module case of the battery module of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a case cover and a bus bar member,employed at the battery module of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for illustrating a support plate, employed at thebattery module of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for illustrating a main part of the support plate ofFIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a perspective bottom view showing the support plate of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a bottom view showing the support plate of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for illustrating a support plate according toanother embodiment, employed at the battery module of FIG. 4.

FIGS. 10 and 11 are diagram for illustrating that a foam member isfilled in the battery module of FIG. 1.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for illustrating a battery pack according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for illustrating a vehicle according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

BEST MODE

The present disclosure will become more apparent by describing in detailthe embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to theaccompanying drawings. It should be understood that the embodimentsdisclosed herein are illustrative only for better understanding of thepresent disclosure, and that the present disclosure may be modified invarious ways. In addition, for ease understanding of the presentdisclosure, the accompanying drawings are not drawn to real scale, butthe dimensions of some components may be exaggerated.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for illustrating a battery module according to anembodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 2 is a partially explodedperspective view showing the battery module of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is adiagram for illustrating a case body according to another embodiment,employed at a module case of the battery module of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is aplan view showing a case cover and a bus bar member, employed at thebattery module of FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a diagram for illustrating a supportplate, employed at the battery module of FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a diagram forillustrating a main part of the support plate of FIG. 5, FIG. 7 is aperspective bottom view showing the support plate of FIG. 5, FIG. 8 is abottom view showing the support plate of FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a diagramfor illustrating a support plate according to another embodiment,employed at the battery module of FIG. 4.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 9, a battery module 10 may include a batterycell 100, a module case 200, a bus bar member 300, a circuit boardassembly 400, a support plate 500, and a foam member 600.

The battery cell 100 is a secondary battery and may be provided as apouch-type secondary battery, a rectangular secondary battery or acylindrical secondary battery. Hereinafter, in this embodiment, it willbe described that the battery cell 100 is provided as a cylindricalbattery cell that is a cylindrical secondary battery.

The battery cell 100 may be provided in plural. The plurality of batterycells 100 may be accommodated in the module case 200, explained later.The plurality of battery cells 100 may be stacked in a horizontaldirection of the module case 200, explained later, inside the modulecase 200, explained later.

The module case 200 may accommodate various electric components of thebattery cell 100 and the battery module 10. To this end, a predeterminedaccommodation space may be provided in the module case 200.

The module case 200 may include a case body 210 and a case cover 250.

The case body 210 has the accommodation space and may accommodatevarious electric components of the plurality of battery cells 100 andthe battery module 10.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of cell insert holes 235 maybe formed in an inner bottom of the case body 230. The plurality of cellinsert holes 235 may be provided to correspond to the number of theplurality of battery cells 100.

Bottom portions of the plurality of battery cells 100 may be insertedinto the plurality of cell insert holes 235. Accordingly, the pluralityof battery cells 100 accommodated in the module case 230 may be morestably accommodated in the module case 230.

Moreover, an adhesive or the like may be applied inside the plurality ofcell insert holes 235. In this case, the plurality of battery cells 100may be more stably fixed.

The case cover 250 forms an upper side of the module case 200 and may becoupled with the case body 210, 230 to package the battery cells 100inside the module case 200.

The bus bar member 300 is provided at an upper side of the plurality ofbattery cells 100 and may electrically connect the plurality of batterycells 100. The bus bar member 300 may be provided in plural, and theplurality of bus bar members 300 may be disposed to be spaced apart fromeach other by a predetermined distance.

The circuit board assembly 400 may be electrically connected to theplurality of bus bar members 300. The circuit board assembly 400 maysense a voltage or temperature of the battery cells 100. Moreover, thecircuit board assembly 400 may include a terminal for connecting to anexternal power source or the like, a control board for managing thebattery cells 100, and the like.

The support plate 500 is disposed between the plurality of battery cells100 and the plurality of bus bar members 300 and may support theplurality of bus bar members 300.

The support plate 500 may include a plate body 510, a bus bar support530, and a guide rib 550.

The plate body 510 may be coupled to the module case 200 at the upperside of the plurality of battery cells 100. The plate body 510 may bedisposed between the case body 210, 230 and the case cover 250 of themodule case 200.

The bus bar support 530 may be provided in plural. The plurality of busbar supports 530 are provided to the plate body 510 and are disposed tobe spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance, and theplurality of bus bar members 300 may be placed on the plurality of busbar supports 530.

A plurality of predetermined spaces S may be provided between theplurality of bus bar supports 530. Through the plurality ofpredetermined spaces S, the foam member 600 may be injected through adispenser unit D, explained described.

The plurality of bus bar supports 530 may include a guide wall 535.

The guide wall 535 is provided at an upper side of the plurality of busbar supports 530 and may protrude to a predetermined height to support aside surface of the plurality of bus bar members 300. Through the guidewall 535, the plurality of bus bar members 300 may be more stably placedand fixed on the bus bar support 530.

The guide rib 550 may be provided in plural, and the plurality of guideribs 550 may be provided at a lower side of the plurality of bus barsupports 530 to have a shape corresponding to facing battery cells 100.

The plurality of guide ribs 550 may at least partially contact the upperside of the plurality of battery cells 100 to support the upper side ofthe plurality of battery cells 100. The upper side of the plurality ofbattery cells 100 may be disposed to be at least partially fitted intoan upper side of the plurality of guide ribs 300. Accordingly, theplurality of battery cells 100 may be more stably supported inside themodule case 200.

Moreover, the plurality of guide ribs 550 may be at least partiallyadhered to the plurality of battery cells 100 by means of an adhesive orthe like. In this case, the plurality of battery cells 100 may be morestably supported and fixed inside the module case 200.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 9, the support plate 505 may further includea filling guide insert hole 570.

The filling guide insert hole 570 may be provided to have a hole shapeof a predetermined size to guide injection of the foam member 600,explained later, through the dispenser unit D, explained later. Thefilling guide insert hole 570 may be provided in plural.

The plurality of filling guide insert holes 570 may be provided in theplurality of bus bar supports 530. Specifically, the plurality offilling guide insert holes 570 may be provided in each bus bar support530 to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance alonga longitudinal direction of each bus bar support 530.

The plurality of filling guide insert holes 570 may be disposed at anupper side corresponding to a space between the plurality of batterycells 100 in a height direction of the module case 200. Through theplurality of filling guide insert holes 570, the foam member 600,explained later, may be filled, and the filling efficiency of the foammember 600, explained later, may be further increased.

The foam member 600 is for preventing the plurality of battery cells 100from shaking and may be filled in the space between the plurality ofbattery cells 100 at the bottom of the support plate 500.

The foam member 600 may be provided as a composite material capable offilling a predetermined space. The foam member 600 may be provided asrubber foam, urethane foam, foam glass, or the like, without beinglimited thereto, and may also be provided as a material capable offilling other spaces.

When manufacturing the battery module 10, the foam member 600 may befilled into the module case 200 by means of the dispenser unit D thatcontains the foam member 600.

Hereinafter, the process of filling the foam member 600 according tothis embodiment will be described in more detail.

FIGS. 10 and 11 are diagram for illustrating that a foam member isfilled in the battery module of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 10, the battery module 10 may be filled with the foammember 600 to prevent the battery cells 100 from shaking and to supportand fix the battery cells 100 more stably. The foam member 600 may befilled using the dispenser unit D that contains the foam member 600. Afilling nozzle for injecting the foam member 600 may be provided at anend of the dispenser unit D.

In this embodiment, the foam member 600 may be filled by injecting thefoam member 600 of the dispenser unit D into the predetermined space Sbetween the bus bar supports 530 of the support plate 500, at the upperside of the plate body 510 of the support plate 500. That is, the foammember 600 may be injected through the dispenser unit D directly at theupper side of the plate body 510 of the support plate 500 through thepredetermined space S.

Accordingly, in this embodiment, the foam member 600 of the dispenserunit D may be injected more conveniently, thereby significantlyimproving the manufacturing efficiency of the battery module 10.

Referring to FIG. 11, the foam member 600 may also be filled through thefilling guide insert holes 570 in addition to the predetermined space Sbetween the bus bar supports 530 of the support plate 500. A worker suchas a manufacturer may also inject the foam member 600 by inserting thefilling nozzle of the dispenser unit D through the filling guide inserthole 570.

Accordingly, the foam member 600 may be more uniformly filled in thespace between the battery cells 100, and thus the foam member 600 may bedistributed more uniformly in the space between the battery cells 100.

In this embodiment, through the support plate 500, 505, the foam member600 may be injected more conveniently and directly, and the foam member600 may be filled more uniformly in the space between the battery cells100.

If the foam member 600 is completely injected, the worker or the likemay place the bus bar member 300 on the bus bar support 530 of thesupport plate 500 and connect the same to the circuit board assembly400.

After that, the worker or the like may mount other electric componentsof the battery module 10 inside the case body 210, 230 of the modulecase 200, and then connect the case cover 250 to the case body 210, 230.

As described above, in this embodiment, it is possible to support thebattery cells 100 more stably by means of the foam member 600 and moreeffectively prevent the battery cells 100 from shaking due to externalshocks. Therefore, in this embodiment, the risk of damage to the batterycells 100 by external impact or the like may be significantly reduced.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for illustrating a battery pack according to anembodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 13 is a diagram forillustrating a vehicle according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13, a battery pack 1 may include at least onebattery module 10 and a pack case 50 for packaging the at least onebattery module 10 according to the former embodiment.

The battery pack 1 may be provided to a vehicle V as a fuel source ofthe vehicle. As an example, the battery pack 1 may be provided to anelectric vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle, and various other-typevehicles V capable of using the battery pack 1 as a fuel source.

In addition, the battery pack 1 may be provided in other devices,instruments or facilities such as an energy storage system using asecondary battery, in addition to the vehicle V.

As described above, the battery pack 1 of this embodiment and devices,instruments or facilities such as the vehicle V, which have the batterypack 1, include the battery module 10 as described above, and thus it ispossible to implement a battery pack 1 having all the advantages of thebattery module 10 described above, or devices, instruments, facilitiesor the like such as the vehicle V, which have the battery pack 1.

According to various embodiments as above, it is possible to provide abattery module 10, which may support battery cells 100 more stably, anda battery pack 1 and a vehicle V including the battery module 10.

Moreover, according to various embodiments as above, it is possible toprovide a battery module 10, which may improve safety of the batterycells 100 by preventing the battery cells 100 from being damaged due toan external impact or the like, and a battery pack 1 and a vehicle Vincluding the battery module 10.

While the embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown anddescribed, it should be understood that the present disclosure is notlimited to the specific embodiments described, and that various changesand modifications can be made within the scope of the present disclosureby those skilled in the art, and these modifications should not beunderstood individually from the technical ideas and views of thepresent disclosure.

1. A battery module, comprising: a module case having an accommodationspace therein; a plurality of battery cells accommodated in theaccommodation space; a plurality of bus bar members disposed at an upperside of the plurality of battery cells and electrically connecting theplurality of battery cells to each other; a support plate disposedbetween the plurality of battery cells and the plurality of bus barmembers, the support plate supporting the plurality of bus bar members;and a foam member filling the accommodation space between the pluralityof battery cells below a bottom surface of the support plate.
 2. Thebattery module according to claim 1, wherein the support plate has atleast one filling guide insert hole configured to guide injection of thefoam member therethrough by a dispenser unit.
 3. The battery moduleaccording to claim 2, wherein the at least one filling guide insert holeis disposed at an upper side of the module case overlying a spacebetween the plurality of battery cells.
 4. The battery module accordingto claim 2, wherein the support plate includes: a plate body coupled tothe module case at an upper side of the module case; and a plurality ofbus bar supports coupled to the plate body and spaced apart from eachother by a predetermined distance so that the plurality of bus barmembers are placed on the plate body.
 5. The battery module according toclaim 4, wherein the at least one filling guide insert hole extendswithin the plurality of bus bar supports.
 6. The battery moduleaccording to claim 4, wherein the at least one filling guide insert holeis a plurality of filling guide insert holes, and the plurality offilling guide insert holes each extend within a respective one of theplurality of bus bar supports.
 7. The battery module according to claim6, wherein the plurality of filling guide insert holes are spaced apartfrom each other by a predetermined distance along a longitudinaldirection of each of the plurality of bus bar supports.
 8. The batterymodule according to claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of bus barsupports has a guide wall protruding upward to a predetermined height atan upper side of the plurality of bus bar supports, each guide wallbeing configured to support a side surface of a respective one of theplurality of bus bar members.
 9. The battery module according to claim4, wherein each of the plurality of bus bar supports has a guide ribfacing the battery cells and having a shape complimentary to a shape ofthe battery cells, each guide rib extending from a lower side of arespective one of the plurality of bus bar supports.
 10. The batterymodule according to claim 9, wherein each guide rib at least partiallycontacts an upper side of a corresponding one of the plurality ofbattery cells to support the upper side of the corresponding one of theplurality of battery cells.
 11. The battery module according to claim 1,wherein the plurality of battery cells are cylindrical battery cells,and the cylindrical battery cells are stacked adjacent to each otheralong a horizontal direction inside the accommodation space.
 12. Abattery pack, comprising at least one battery module each according toclaim 1 and a pack case packaging the at least one battery moduletherein.
 13. A vehicle, comprising at least one battery pack eachaccording to claim 12.